Portable battery operated electronic products, such as radios and cell phones, have become staples to the average consumer's everyday life. The usable life of a rechargeable battery decreases with usage and time making it important for users to be able to identify when to replace their rechargeable batteries. Users of portable radios presently lack an easy way of determining the remaining useful life cycle expectancy of their batteries.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an estimation of the remaining life cycle expectancy of rechargeable battery packs. Having the capability of estimating battery life cycles without additional hardware in the battery, charger, or radio would be a further advantage in terms of cost and manufacturing issues.